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Nancy Drew Diaries 90th Anniversary Collection (Boxed Set): Curse of the Arctic Star; Strangers on a Train; Mystery of the Midnight Rider; Once Upon a ... Clue at Black Creek Farm; A Script for Danger
Celebrate the 90th anniversary of the iconic teen sleuth with this beautifully designed, collectible boxed set of the Nancy Drew Diaries series, a fresh approach to the classic mystery series!
Danger and mystery abound in this suspenseful series. Join Nancy Drew and her friends as they journey to Alaska, compete in a horse show, investigate election sabotage, get stranded at a lake, and much more!
With all new covers—only available in this boxed set—this specially redesigned collection of the first ten Nancy Drew Diaries celebrates the clever, independent sleuth who has inspired many women over the years, including Oprah and Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
This thrilling paperback collection
Curse of the Arctic Star
Strangers on a Train
Mystery of the Midnight Rider
Once Upon a Thriller
Sabotage at Willow Woods
Secret at Mystic Lake
The Phantom of Nantucket
The Magician’s Secret
The Clue at Black Creek Farm
A Script for Danger
Danger and mystery abound in this suspenseful series. Join Nancy Drew and her friends as they journey to Alaska, compete in a horse show, investigate election sabotage, get stranded at a lake, and much more!
With all new covers—only available in this boxed set—this specially redesigned collection of the first ten Nancy Drew Diaries celebrates the clever, independent sleuth who has inspired many women over the years, including Oprah and Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
This thrilling paperback collection
Curse of the Arctic Star
Strangers on a Train
Mystery of the Midnight Rider
Once Upon a Thriller
Sabotage at Willow Woods
Secret at Mystic Lake
The Phantom of Nantucket
The Magician’s Secret
The Clue at Black Creek Farm
A Script for Danger
1856 pages, Paperback
Published September 22, 2020
6 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
948 books3,857 followersCarolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator.
Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.
Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.
Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.
Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 4, 2022
I bought these as a Christmas Present to myself, having enjoyed reading the classic "Nancy Drew Mysteries" as a child, and having never owned them, but borrowed them from the school library. I fell for the boxset design, clearly labelled as celebrating the "90th Anniversary" of the classic tales.
This sadly was a marketing gimmick on behalf of the publishers, Simon and Schuster, as contained within these 10 novels are not original "Nancy Drew Mysteries", but a rebranded repackaged spinoff series "Nancy Drew Diaries". Nancy has a cell-phone now, and the internet. And Ned is a college sophomore. I'm not sure how old Nancy is, (she poses as a high-schooler in one book) we are never told, but she still lives with her Dad and Housekeeper. Bess & George tag along, but otherwise the trio of investigators are unemployed and living off their trust funds? Who knows.
1. Curse of the Arctic Star - As a travel agent who had to find alternate employment due to the pandemic, I really enjoyed the largely accurate account of an Alaskan Cruise. The mystery however was quite lacking, and this book was largely the first part of a two book mystery. 2*
2. Strangers on a Train - Again I enjoyed the account of the rail and lodge part of the Alaskan Cruise-tour, but again the mystery was lacking. 2.5*
3. Mystery of the Midnight Rider - We avid Nancy Drew fans figured out this 'mystery' pretty early. Stars due to the cute horse on the cover. 2*
4. Once Upon a Thriller - The shortest of the 10 books in this collection and possibly the one that gave me the most nostalgia of the original series. Typewriter written notes, a copycat framing an author. Shows promise. 3*
5. Sabotage at Willow Woods - A lame addition with Nancy posing as a high-schooler of indeterminable age. Skippable. 1.5*
6. Secret at Mystic Lake - This was not a good one, more red herrings than a Danish fish market. 1.5*
7. The Phantom of Nantucket - This one has elements of old Nancy, but gee how many vacations can one sleuth of indeterminate age and her friends have? Bonus half star as I learnt some things about Nantucket. 2.5*
8. The Magician's Secret - This was quite a good one, elements of the old Nancy. 3*
9. The Clue at Black Creek Farm - We learned how George survives, she has a part time job at a coffee shop! However the mystery was very lacking, as we figured out who the saboteur was very easily. 2*
10. A Script for Danger - This one had potential and a setting which did bring Nancy into the 21st Century. However the reveal felt quite rushed. 3.5*
This sadly was a marketing gimmick on behalf of the publishers, Simon and Schuster, as contained within these 10 novels are not original "Nancy Drew Mysteries", but a rebranded repackaged spinoff series "Nancy Drew Diaries". Nancy has a cell-phone now, and the internet. And Ned is a college sophomore. I'm not sure how old Nancy is, (she poses as a high-schooler in one book) we are never told, but she still lives with her Dad and Housekeeper. Bess & George tag along, but otherwise the trio of investigators are unemployed and living off their trust funds? Who knows.
1. Curse of the Arctic Star - As a travel agent who had to find alternate employment due to the pandemic, I really enjoyed the largely accurate account of an Alaskan Cruise. The mystery however was quite lacking, and this book was largely the first part of a two book mystery. 2*
2. Strangers on a Train - Again I enjoyed the account of the rail and lodge part of the Alaskan Cruise-tour, but again the mystery was lacking. 2.5*
3. Mystery of the Midnight Rider - We avid Nancy Drew fans figured out this 'mystery' pretty early. Stars due to the cute horse on the cover. 2*
4. Once Upon a Thriller - The shortest of the 10 books in this collection and possibly the one that gave me the most nostalgia of the original series. Typewriter written notes, a copycat framing an author. Shows promise. 3*
5. Sabotage at Willow Woods - A lame addition with Nancy posing as a high-schooler of indeterminable age. Skippable. 1.5*
6. Secret at Mystic Lake - This was not a good one, more red herrings than a Danish fish market. 1.5*
7. The Phantom of Nantucket - This one has elements of old Nancy, but gee how many vacations can one sleuth of indeterminate age and her friends have? Bonus half star as I learnt some things about Nantucket. 2.5*
8. The Magician's Secret - This was quite a good one, elements of the old Nancy. 3*
9. The Clue at Black Creek Farm - We learned how George survives, she has a part time job at a coffee shop! However the mystery was very lacking, as we figured out who the saboteur was very easily. 2*
10. A Script for Danger - This one had potential and a setting which did bring Nancy into the 21st Century. However the reveal felt quite rushed. 3.5*
Displaying 1 of 1 review